Why I Stopped Counting Calories

You've heard it a million times, we all know that the way to lose weight is calories in versus calories out. More energy used than energy consumed. Of course, there are exceptions such as; medical conditions, stress, sleep, and a variety of other factors. However, as far as I am aware - I do not have any medical issues. Therefore, calories in versus calories out should work - right? I've used My Fitness Pal and online calorie counters to see what my suggested calorie intake amount should be. I'm 5'2", 135 pounds, and a female. This means my suggested calorie intake is 1,200-1,300 calories.

This was so not enough for me. I know, I know - many assume I'm just not trying. That amount of calories is easy for some, but not for me. I could eat 1,200-1,300 calories for 3-5 days without a problem - but on day 6, I was miserable. When I was counting my calories, I became obsessive. I would tell myself, "You can't have this because if you eat this, you can't have this for dinner" or "if I eat this, I will go over my calories" or "I'm hungry, but I've hit my calories for the day". These thoughts made me unhappy, obsessive, and hungry. I'm the type of person, where if there's something I think will taste amazing, but I tell myself I can't eat it. I will become obsessive. This is probably a problem for another day. Another problem I found when counting my calories, is simply living my life! If friends wanted to go out to eat, I would make excuses not to go or I would go and feel guilty for not knowing the calories in my meal or going well over my calories. I was beginning to go to the gym while on this calorie deficit and I remained hungry all day. I was eating things like chicken, veggies, eggs, rice, fruits, yogurt, etc - but I didn't feel fulfilled. I felt like I was gaining all of my proper nutrition - but it didn't matter. I would make gross protein shakes because certain things had too many calories. I would drink tea without any sweetener because honey had too many calories. I would leave chocolate chips out of my beloved snacks because there were too many calories - do you see the problem! Now, I know, I know - there are so many low-calorie options so I can still eat the things I love. I've had a few and I'm not that strict to where I complain that they taste different - but some of them just are not good! I can substitute low-cal mayo, mustard, and ketchup. I'm trying the powdered peanut butter and fat-free creamer. Speaking of creamer, I'm the girl that thinks pouring a cup of creamer into a splash of coffee is a personality trait - sue me. So being able to only have 2 TBS of creamer just isn't going to fly. I bought the sugar-free syrups - they're gross. I don't even enjoy my coffee when counting calories.

There's a point to this vent sesh - I promise. So now that you've read, and maybe relate to, all of the reasons I don't like calorie counting - let me tell you how I'm still losing weight. 1. Physical Activity

I have an apply watch, before then I had a fit bit. I'm not sure why, but I love seeing my activity levels, how much I sleep and tracking my workouts. You do not need an activity tracker, but if you're interested - you can find some for fairly cheap! By keeping physical activity in my routine, I go to the gym a minimum of 3 days a week for 45-70 minutes. I love going before work at 5am. Typically, I start my session with 30 minutes of light cardio (I've been doing 30 minutes on the bicycle at level 5) and 30 minutes or more strength training. I've also set a goal of 6,000 steps every day. Keep in mind that these are my personal goals that fit in with my schedule. My strongest recommendation when deciding you do not want to count calories is to set a daily activity goal. This goal can be steps, a 30-minute walk during lunch, a 20-minute youtube workout - anything that gets your heart rate up and is a little push against what you're used to. I would also like to note, that if you are in a highly active work environment (waitressing, nursing, retail - anywhere that you're on your feet more than 70% of the time) really push those step goals up! If you're in an office setting like me, 6,000 is a pretty big leap when I typically only reach 2,000-3,000 steps a day. Takeaway: If you're wearing a fitness tracker, track your daily activity for three days to a week. Do this without any changes to your physical routine. After a week, try to double your activity! If you're not interested in using a fitness tracker, use the gym or home workouts as your change. If you always go to the gym for an hour, increase your days, your time, and your weights. If you have never gone to the gym or worked out, making that baby step will make big changes! 2. Read Your Labels & Make Changes

Woah, isn't this whole blog post about how we hate tracking calories - yes. Yes, it is. That doesn't mean we should ignore everything we may have lear

ned from it! Read your labels. Eating the serving size and if you're hungry, have some more. Leave the bag in the kitchen. Every meal and snack must be on a plate. These changes seem minuscule, but I promise you they will make all the difference. Drinking water with every meal is a great addition to your health journey as well! If you're open to finding low-calorie options, I would strongly suggest it. Fiber One Brownies and Smart Pop are great snacks! I love switching my condiments like ranch and mayo to low-calorie options as I find they make no difference in taste. Experiment with the low-calorie options and if you don't like them, don't make the change! Another great addition to your health journey is to include protein in every meal. I like to include protein and a fruit or vegetable and I've found that I feel fuller longer and more satisfied!

3. Remember: You Are the Only One Standing in your Way!

Waking up at 5am is absolutely horrible when I know I don't actually need to wake up until 7am. I found that when I have my phone charging next to the bed, I will sit there and stare at the screen before falling back asleep. So do you know what I need to do? I need to use an app called Alarmy that makes me solve three math problems before I can turn off my alarm. I also need to charge my phone in the bathroom across the hall, making me actually get up, solve the math problems and then decide if going back to bed is really worth it. You need to decide what your weaknesses are and how you are going to overcome them. If waking up is your weakness, try what I do! If snacking is your weakness, prepackage the suggested serving size into baggies or containers! If eating healthy is your weakness, meal prep! If going to the gym after work is your weakness, pack a gym bag and bring it to work with you - drive to the gym after work with no excuses. Again, you're the only thing standing in the way of you. There are 24 hours in a day, you can find 30 minutes to work out. There are a million youtube videos on healthy eating, a million recipes on Pinterest, you'll find something tasty and worth making!

Starting a health journey, weightloss journey - any journey, is really hard. You need to push yourself to make tough decisions, but also allow yourself to live your life. You can still eat out, have drinks with friends, enjoy lazy days, and skip the gym. What you can't do is give up on yourself and make excuses. We've got this, together.